Cationic surfactants are known and have a variety of uses. For example, cationic surfactants can be used in the synthesis of emulsion polymers. They can also be used to form coatings on surfaces that are negatively charged such as glass.
Polyethers including one or more pendant alkoxyfluoroalkyl groups, which typically derive from the polymerization of cyclic ethers (e.g., oxetanes) including pendant alkoxyfluoroalkyl groups, have been employed in aqueous and non-polar liquid compositions to provide one or more of wetting, flow, and leveling properties. Surfactants including a polyether segment of this type are known. In particular, polyethers bearing one or more pendant alkoxyfluoroalkyl groups and a positively charged (i.e., cationic) substituent have been disclosed. The ability to synthesize these compounds, however, is not trivial, and low yields are typically obtained.
Inasmuch as polyethers bearing pendant alkoxyfluoroalkyl groups and a cationic substituent are highly desirable, there remains a need to develop specific compounds of this type and efficient synthetic routes for synthesizing the same.